Sweet Revelation
by letterfromathief
Summary: Tyler/Shelby. Canon Divergent AU. The worst kinds of sisters yield the best kind of ideas.


**Title: **Sweet Revelation

**Summary: **The worst kinds of sisters yield the best kind of ideas.

**notes: **This is set in an AU post, and I guess, during, episode 7 where Shelby and Kendall are actually sisters.

* * *

"You are the worst kind of sister," Shelby complained so loudly that she heard the entire team stumble behind her.

Riley even yelped. Koda had probably stepped on him.

Despite this development, she was too annoyed and too proud to stop now. Kendall had already chewed her out for destroying the "rare specimen" that was her awful gift of tricera-dung. If this was a cosmic joke, she was sure Sledge was up there, laughing it up. Might as well since the rangers had already done the same. Join the big "Laugh at Shelby" party, hosted by her older sister, Kendall the Worst.

"Shelby, you're not making any sense."

Shelby narrowed her eyes at the tone as Kendall stopped. She tipped her glasses back at Shelby in the way she always did when she was waiting for Shelby to screw up and held the clipboard to her stomach like the Mom she was _definitely_ not. They had a mom, and she actually wasn't a velociraptor in disguise; Kendall was the Jurassic Park "tear you to pieces" kind, not the Riley kind.

"You have no idea what I like or care about! A reasonable sister wouldn't even consider it. An _unreasonable_ sister would consider it and change their mind and buy a card instead. You're the kind that would actually make me touch it. You may be a brain, but you certainly don't think…at least not about me."

Shelby would have stormed off, but when she twisted on her heel, the fallen heap of her team blocked her path, so she had to face Kendall again. Kendall, who looked somewhere between stunned and annoyed, with her grip tightened on her clipboard and her eyebrows in a v (for Very terrible).

"The only things you like _are_ dinosaurs!" Kendall shouted after her as she walked past, head held high.

She held it higher, her walk even more stomp-y. She liked so much more than dinosaurs. _So _much more.

Their shared apartment was a choice neither of them had agreed with, but Mom could channel Kendall when she wanted. So, when Shelby decided to _not_ follow Kendall to the museum – it was a decision based on the dinosaurs in the museum, not the one that worked there – Mom had insisted they board together. They could bond, she'd said.

They _had_ bonded. Their need for headphones and separate boxes of Fruit Loops was as solid a bond as you could get.

Shelby paced her room. With her door shut and locked, even if it did annoy Kendall, she could pretend she didn't hear her banging because she had their agreed upon headphones on. Shelby was certainly living the life.

Also certain was that she liked plenty of things that weren't dinosaurs. She liked history, for one. She walked over to her Shelby board – a white board that her dad had named and decorated on the edges with sparkling dinosaur stickers that he'd drawn and decorated himself. He was a whiz at Photoshop and all the computer programming that Shelby had no interest in. Math wasn't her thing, and she preferred the hands on approach.

Under the header she'd written in all capital letters that took up three separate lines, "Things I Like for People Who Don't Know despite Living with Me All My Life AKA the Worst Sister Ever," Shelby added "01. History."

She started to list documentaries and books and timelines that she especially liked. When she was done, she frowned. Stomping her feet and throwing down her hands in frustration, she wracked her brain again.

All the history she liked _was _about dinosaurs.

"Ooh," she shouted because thinking about her dad's programming had given her the answer. Shelby liked building things. She liked creating. Putting together the E-Tracer and the Anklyo-charger with Kendall had been more fun than kicking Sledge butt and watching Chase fall on his, even with a partner who normally acted like, well, _Kendall_. The E-Tracer's build felt like being recognized for something other than her awesome style and epic one-liners. It made Shelby feel proud.

She erased History and replaced it with "Building," but frowned when she thought back to other things she had built.

When she was four, she'd taken apart Kendall's Lego Science Lab and built a Dino habitat in its place. At seven, Shelby had learned not to steal Kendall's things, so she'd instead built her own Dino fort out of her own blankets in the living room. Mom had joined her there and they'd talked about Shelby's day, and of course, dinosaurs until Dad called them for dinner. Mom had even let her sleep in it, although her hair had been a Pterodactyl nest the next day.

The pattern only went on like that for years – art projects and shop classes and even the baking class she took with Dad where they'd baked a Triceratops shaped chocolate cake.

Shelby set her upper lip and erased Building as well. This would take some real thought. Kendall couldn't win in this.

Her pacing would have torn holes in the ground had she been as heavy as her favorite Dino. Shelby had tied her hair in a studious ponytail and even adopted Kendall's thinking stance, which _she'd_ adopted from Mom anyway so it wasn't like she was copying _her_, by the time she came up with it.

She had to say it was brilliant. So brilliant that Shelby fist bumped the sky and her favorite Ouran poster. Kyouya looked on in hidden approval.

She had four choices to go through but tossed two of them aside in an instant. Koda wouldn't do because he wouldn't get the intricacies of why she'd need him, and she had no interest in making special super-stacked Bronto burgers every day. Chase wouldn't because he was Chase.

That left Tyler and Riley.

Riley would be the best choice if she was being honest. He understood the methodology behind a carefully executed plan and he would always be prepared for whatever came up.

It just didn't sit right with her. In the pit of her stomach, choosing Riley made her ache. Like indigestion but worse because she felt it everywhere. In her fingers and in her head, and worryingly, in her chest where her heart seemed to want to beat her in a pacing contest, stomping hard beats against her rib cage.

She didn't write her decision down on the board. Erasing the whole thing, she simply wrote what she always wrote on her board, even when she hadn't been the one to write it and Mom had scribbled it across the board in her messy, barely legible handwriting and Dad had near typed it there in his.

_Make it a Shelby day._

She totally was going to, and Tyler was going to help like he always did, often before Shelby even had to ask.

* * *

"I still don't get why," Tyler said.

Shelby didn't know why this was proving to be so difficult. Even getting Tyler to give her his keys time and time again had never been this hard. It had never been hard at all. This was easier than that, and in fact, wouldn't leave him stranded in the middle of nowhere like that _one_ time he would bring up sometimes when she tried to wheedle his keys out of him.

"_Because_ it'll annoy her," Shelby said. They'd gone over this.

The smile on his face was somewhere between amusement and adorable confusion. "But why do you need to annoy her?"

"_Because,_ Tyler, I'm right and I have to prove it." He opened his mouth to voice another question. "This is sister stuff. It would take years to explain – 18 years in fact. That's how long I've been putting up with it."

He placed his hand on his chin, the smile growing. "But why me?"

That question was a new one. Suddenly, Shelby wanted to stuff her hands in her pockets and felt like looking away from the wide grin and puffed out cheeks. His eyes were gleaming so she couldn't turn her head despite the way his look made her heart start its stupid pacing again.

"Do I really have to explain why Koda and Chase wouldn't work?" She placed her hands on her hips and tipped her head to him. With a roll of her eyes that made Tyler chuckle, she added, "Besides, I don't want to burden Riley with this."

"But you'll burden me?"

"Dating me is _not_ a burden, Tyler Navarro," she snapped loudly.

It was like a movie magic moment because as Tyler placed his hand on her shoulder to hold up his body while he clutched his stomach and doubled over in laughter, Kendall walked in the room, obviously having heard Shelby's shout.

"Dating?"

Shelby wrapped her arms around Tyler's shoulder and helped him to his feet. "Yes, because there is something I like besides dinosaurs."

She felt her face burn after the words left her mouth, and Tyler's hand arm suddenly felt warmer against her neck. When he'd wrapped his arm around her too, she hadn't noticed.

Kendall's eyebrows rose. "What was I supposed to do? Give you a boy as a gift?"

"I don't need a boy, obviously." Shelby flipped her hair and curled her mouth in an evil smile. "I have Tyler."

"Of course," Kendall said with her nod that said she didn't believe a word.

Shelby leaned into Tyler's warmth. They were hip to hip, and he hadn't said a word to discount her, but this was going to take more work than she thought.

The thought didn't bother her at all, but it made her hand tremble on his shoulder and her stomach try to leap out her mouth.

She probably shouldn't have eaten those three burgers.

* * *

"If we're dating, you know, we need to actually go out on dates."

Shelby shook her head without glancing up at him. Poring over the list she'd made, she said, "We don't have time for that."

"_Time?_"

Shelby lifted her eyes to his face. He was bent at the knees now to almost be at her height where she was laying across the couch in the lobby. It was just before closing so the museum was mostly empty and there was no worry of Kendall running into them – or anyone else for that matter because they'd all skedaddled as soon as they could. Shelby didn't mind staying if it meant she could get Tyler up to speed.

"Dates won't prove we're dating."

His eyebrow's furrow deepened. Tyler moved his head back and forth to look at her from all angles and waved his hand in her face. She swatted it away.

"Dates won't prove we're dating? Are you feeling alright, Shelby? Did you hit your head?"

"No, but you're about to hit yours if you keep this up. Kendall knows we go out all the time already. It won't be any different than our normal routine."

Tyler didn't argue with this but his expression softened into the look he sometimes gave her when she was watching him out of the corner of her eyes and he caught her. It was usually because she was calculating the new move she would try against him during their next spar. Sometimes, she just did because she could and because she liked the faces he made and the way he'd excitedly tell a story, all flailing arms and heavy nods.

Her stomach did another flip flop. She _really_ shouldn't have eaten those burgers.

"So, we have to change it up then?"

It was a surprise when he lifted her to her feet and twirled her in his arms. He kept a tight grip on her hand even when she yelped his name.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Shelby demanded with heavy breaths.

He grinned and raised their joined hands. "Hand holding! I'm changing it up, Shelby. Try to keep up."

She slipped her hand out of his because it was starting to get sweaty and placed both on her hips, "_You_ try to keep up. Triceratops could reach land speeds of 34 miles per hour. Your _Rexy_ can only go 18."

He clutched his chest liked she'd wounded him. "Whatever. I can see why Kendall thinks you're only into dinosaurs."

She gaped at him. "Tyler!"

She might've left him at the museum. She did have his car keys.

He smiled and picked up her list. "You have some good ideas here, but…"

By the time, they'd hashed out their plan with heads shoulders pressed together and Tyler's messy handwriting crisscrossed with Shelby's, she had forgotten all about leaving him. Instead, he drove her home.

When Kendall asked her why she was so late, Shelby was only too happy to reply, "I was with Tyler."

She was only too happy for it to be true.

* * *

The plan went off without a hitch. It wasn't weird how easy it is for them to fall into being cutesy enough to make Kendall sick with their romance. Shelby was a great actress. Shelby was a great everything. Ranger, builder, historian. That they all revolved around dinosaurs didn't matter, because Tyler was the one thing she would like even without the Dino connection. She'd liked him the moment he'd jumped into her fight and gave her his hand.

It was easy to hold said hand because it was always warm and welcoming, though sometimes sweaty. They walked at the same pace so it was never a struggle to keep up. He was even the perfect height for hooking their elbows together and letting her lean against his shoulder.

It was even easier to convince the others that their relationship was real. Chase took every opportunity to say he knew it was going to happen at some point. Riley agreed, although he only voiced it once, not every time he found Tyler and Shelby talking in the kitchen or when they'd split from the team to drive in Tyler's jeep instead. His jeep reached speeds that their team truck did not. Though, Koda had frowned when he realized and nearly wept into his hands because he thought that this meant Shelby wouldn't bring him burgers anymore.

"Honestly, Koda, you're the only one I _would_ bring burgers."

Tyler had crossed his arms and pouted and Shelby raised her shoulders high, said, "Sorry to break it to you. Koda's special."

"And I'm not?"

"Oh, you're _special_ alright."

Tyler pouted, quite adorably, for the rest of their lunch until Chase's endless teasing finally made him jump up and stomp back to the base. He threw his hands up in the air, dumped out his tray, and with a shake of his head and a visible smile, said, "You guys are the worst."

Shelby agreed after Chase turned his attention on her. "You should go comfort your boyfriend."

It was so easy that she didn't even have to fight an urge to disagree about the boyfriend title. Tyler as her boyfriend fit just as comfortably as her Ranger identity had. It crept into her life and took root so smoothly that she couldn't think of a time that she wasn't a Ranger.

She couldn't think of a time when Tyler _wasn't_ her boyfriend.

Kendall had stopped asking her where she'd been, but Shelby had only taken to offering up this information instead when she'd sit down next to Kendall on their living room couch or at dinner, or even better, when she'd sidle into Kendall's room and make herself comfortable on her bed. She went on as any TV obsessive girlfriend would – "Tyler this" and "Tyler that" – and swooned over the most ridiculous things. Tyler's smile. The way he couldn't control his enthusiasm even in the heat of battle when he should be paying attention and not jumping excitedly because one of them had landed a superb hit. His giving nature and his protectiveness and his inspiring leadership and intuition and intelligence and –

She could go on like this all evening. Kendall usually gave up about half an hour in, though her constitution seemed to be improving the more Shelby nagged at her.

In fact, when Shelby talked about Tyler, she had even started to smile. Hers had nothing on Shelby's but it was a start. Shelby was winning the battle; it was time she won the war.

* * *

The kiss was not a part of the plan.

Shelby was sure it wasn't meant to even be seen. He'd looked shifty from the beginning, as soon as he rounded the corner into the base. He'd held his hands behind his back and his normal buzz of energy was carefully subdued.

He didn't ask if they were alone, but he'd looked around before he stepped to her side and said with a shy ducking of his head. "I have something for you."

Her stomach did somersaults. She loved presents. The thoughtfulness always made her kind of weepy, however. She didn't want to get weepy, at least not unless it was in front of Mom, Dad, and Kendall during the holidays. Kendall never judged her for that. It was another thing they'd bonded over, actually, shedding tears over presents.

"No, you can't do this right now. I might cry," Shelby said.

She didn't feel weird or embarrassed telling him this. They'd shared more – stories of his dad, stories about Kendall and their parents. Even the truly mortifyingly embarrassing ones, like all her spills at important events and the time she and Mom had exploded the microwave through means unknown, still to this day, and the time he was so enthusiastic about movie trivia that he'd spilled popcorn all over the theater floor and cleaned it up because he couldn't force someone else to do it for him.

"I won't tell," he said ever so softly.

His hands came from behind his back and he presented her with a small green bag decorated with tiny red and brown velociraptors. Shelby laughed at the joke and carefully opened the bag without looking at him.

Inside was a gold charm bracelet with two little dinosaurs on it – her triceratops and his t-rex. She did start to tear up then as she put the bracelet on with shaking hands.

She tried to say thank you, but instead he leaned forward and sealed her mouth with a kiss. His lips were soft and the kiss was gentle. Shelby swooned. Shelby felt somersaults in her stomach, stomping in her heart and stars exploding in her head.

It was only after he pulled away and grinned like he'd caught the sun in his teeth that Shelby thought, _this was not a part of the plan_.

Nor was Kendall standing behind him, arms crossed across her chest and her foot tapping impatiently on the floor.

"Kendall!" Shelby said.

Tyler's eyes flew wide open and jumped right off the floor. He turned around hastily and began to say, "We were just-"

Kendall cut him off with a wave of her hand. She slowly took off her glasses and tossed her ponytail to the side with a flippant roll of her eyes. "It's fine. You both have my blessing. However, I would like to actually work in the lab. I don't need you two and your…distractions messing with my research, so if you could take this somewhere else, I would greatly appreciate it."

Shelby smarted, but Kendall had her glasses off and Shelby always knew what that look meant. She smiled at Kendall, and Kendall smiled back in equal happiness. It didn't feel like winning, but it did feel like her sister might be her favorite person in the world in this moment.

She vowed to write it down, the time and place and reasons why before the next time they battled, just so she could remember that she loved her sister, no matter how much she wanted to pull her hair.

Glancing at Tyler, he still had the same gape-mouthed look on his face, so she grabbed him by the hand because he clearly didn't know an escape when it was presented to him. She led him out the lab up to where his truck was parked. It was lunch time and they had an hour and a half break before she was on cleaning duty and he was serving in the dining room.

What they were supposed to do with the time now that he no longer had to date her was a question Shelby could not answer. She knew now how she _wanted_ to fill it, but Tyler had ducked his head again and she felt kind of like this might've been a really bad mistake. Her stomach rolled and not in a good way.

He turned to her. The afternoon sunshine hit him just right that she could see the red in his cheeks when he puffed them out in his signature grin.

"So does this mean we can date for realsies now?"

Shelby burst out laughing. She knew she was meant to. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes because it felt like he had given her another gift, one that made her want to jump up with giddiness and _not_ cry, but the tears were there all the same when she said, "Did you just say 'for realsies'? Have we regressed now?"

"Progressed," he said, and this time when he moved in, she was ready to meet him. The sun hit her eyes but she still kept them open to see the happy crinkles around his when lips covered her own.

Later, she would do actual somersaults and fall in the grass, laughing against him until she felt like kissing him again and it would be perfect because dating her was not his burden or an agreement, but something he truly wanted to do, no asking required.


End file.
